The Old Guy at Muscle Beach

Yes, I'm the old guy with the barbell. And that's okay with me!


Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Back in 1946 or so, Bob Hoffman
traveled to California on business.

While there, he visited a huge gym
that Vic Tanny had opened close to
Muscle Beach.

It was in a large building - an old
airplane hanger - and it wasn't at
all fancy. It had barbells, dumbbells,
benches, pulleys, chin bars, dip
bars, sit-up boards and squat
stands.

The benches and pulleys got most
of the use.

This was at the start of a big
exercise craze on the West
Coast. Trainees did endless sets
of TWO exercises:

1. Bench presses
and

2. Lat machine pull-downs

The idea was to pump their upper
bodies to gargantuan proportions.

Hoffman was used to watching the
weightlifters at the York Barbell Club
train, and he expected to see lots of
cleans, snatches, military presses
and squatting when he went to a
gym.

But not this time.

Not this gym.

Instead, he saw many gym members
doing nothing but bench presses and
pull-downs.

It baffled him.

Then he looked across the gym and
saw a lone trainee working out all by
himself in a far corner.

He was an older man, and he was
training with nothing but a barbell.

He was doing the old-school exercises
in the York training courses: squats,
presses, curls, bent over and upright
rowing, cleans, snatches, high pulls,
deadlifts, shrugs, etc.

Hoffman watched him go through his
entire workout.

The old guy finished with a good sweat
and a smile on his face.

It was the kind of workout Bob Hoff-
man liked to see.

I'll be training tonight, and my workout
will be a lot like the old guy with the
barbell.

In fact, if anyone walks by our place,
looks into the drive-way, and sees me,
that's probably what they'll think:

"It's the old guy with the barbell again."

And that's okay with me. I'm perfectly
happy to be the old guy with the barbell.

It beats the heck out of being the old
guy in the wheelchair.

Or just being "the old guy."

As always, thanks for reading and have
a great day. If you train today, make it
a good one.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. The Old School Q and A is
available in your choice of hard-copy,
Kindle, or PDF with immediate electronic
delivery.

Go here to grab a copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/oldschool-qanda.html



P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day

"There's nothing wrong with being the
old guy with the barbell - in fact, it's
kind of fun!"

- Brooks Kubik

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